glad to have you with us on this edition of "newsline." it's tuesday, november 6th. i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. financial leaders of nations gathered in mexico. say they'll do everything necessary to achieve global growth. the finance ministers and central bank governors issued a joint statement on monday at the end of their two-day meeting. they said global growth remains modest and downside risks are still elevated. they warned against possible delays in tackling europe's debt

problems. they also warned of the u.s. fiscal cliff. fiscal austerity is expected to increase. the finance chiefs cautioned extreme belt tightening could trigger a further slowdown. they point to the failure so far for debt covering bonds. they have decided to present reliable reconstruction plans for 2016 and beyond. called for growth strategies along with fiscal reform. they urge nations in fiscal good standing to step up to stimulate growth. now, it's not only the financial leaders who are worried about the slowdown. yuko fukushima joins us from the desk. how are investors feeling these days? >> good morning. understandably many of them are nervous. and they're hoping to get some clues from the u.s. presidential election. this is because investors on

wall street are also feeling the downside risks of the economy. especially with the so-called fiscal cliff. right now they're staying on the sidelines through the election. new york markets ended slightly higher. the dow jones up by .15% and closed at 13,112. we'll have to see how stocks here in japan are trading this tuesday morning. we go to ramin mellegard at the tokyo stock exchange. good morning. looks like all eyes are on the u.s. election. >> yes, indeed. and really investors looking at the presidential race which is coming down to the wire. looks tight so far. investors really don't want to be making any big bets just ahead of that. let's have a look at the opening levels here in tokyo. both indexes down slightly lower. and we're below the 9,000 level for the nikkei. topix also down .4%.

nikkei did lose ground. it was down half a percent. but did trade below that temporarily and we're below that again today. now, the main focus in japan is also how the yen and slowing growth in china is affecting japanese corporate earnings here which has been coming out thick and fast. however, we were watching toyota yesterday which came out with earnings after the bell and it was a bit of a standout really outperforming saying estimates profits for the business year ending next march 2013 will total $13 billion. that's up 5% in yen terms from its previous projection. the company is also making up for a slump in sales in china by increased -- or looking at increased demand in north america as well. so taking some positives there. in other regions despite the slump in sales in china. we're going to keep track of toyota today. shares up 2.2% yesterday in

toyota. also it was upped by a european broker from neutral. a lot of news on the biggest auto maker. >> and we're seeing renewed concerns about greece also. how's that effecting currencies? >> a lot of focus on currency markets there. we've seen the euro drop against the dollar and it's weakened a bit against the yen. having a look at the screens. 102.59-64. there are thoughts greece could not push through the austerity package vote. looking at the dollar/yen, the dollar is standing firm against the yen. as we can see there 80.14-22. earnings continuing here in japan. we're going to have nissan out with earningings after the bell today. the car maker says that sales in china plunged more than 40% last month. so the focus really willing on how the soured japan/china

relations will have effected its earnings. so big focus there on nissan. and the auto sector for japan. back to you. >> thanks so much, ramin. ramin mellegard at the tokyo stock exchange. chinese officials have opened a second front in their solar power war with the european union. they filed a complaint with the world trade organization over european subsidies to the industry. chinese commerce industry says members of the nations are unfairly supporting solar equipment makers. they say it's anti-competitive towards imports and have serious consequences. the eu ran an investigation in september into the suspected dumping of chinese made solar panels. they see the complaint as a counter attack. a eu spokesperson issued a short statement. that is all for me for now. i'll leave you with how the stocks are performing this

tuesday morning. one last day and one last push. u.s. president barack obama and republican challenger mitt romney are making their final pitches before americans head to the polls. obama visited three swing states. he told a crowd in wisconsin

that romney would resurrect the republican policies of four years ago and preserve tax cuts for the wealthy. >> it's a choice between returning to the top-down policies that crashed our economy or a future that's built on providing opportunity to everybody and growing a strong middle class. >> romney also campaigned in swing states. he told an audience in florida that obama had failed to deliver on promises to reduce the economic burden on americans. >> tomorrow we begin a new tomorrow. tomorrow we begin a better tomorrow. this nation is going to begin to change for the better tomorrow. >> the latest poll from the washington post presents 50% of voters will cast their ballots for obama. polls indicate a close race in eight states. some suggest the candidates are running even. others give obama a narrow lead.

obama carried the state four years ago due in part to younger voters. but unemployment in ohio has topped 12% among people aged 20 to 25. disappointment over the economy is working in romney's favor. so young democratic campaigners are trying to turn things around. nhk world's washington bureau chief reports. >> reporter: john is one of the leaders of college democrats which backs president obama. he is frustrated that students don't seem fired up about the presidential race even though election day is almost here. >> it's definitely really close. there is a sense of anxiousness in the air. because it's getting to point where we are looking at people on campus and asking ourselves is that person actually going to be the one vote that decides the election?

>> reporter: he wants to find a way to ignite students' interest. he and his friends hand out cookies with the obama campaign logo design. their strategy is to have students hear about the president's policies while enjoying the snacks. next to the college democrat booth is a booth ran by the college republicans. 19-year-old joe is their leader. he says romney is benefitting from people's disappointment with president obama. >> we are more focused on feeding them good information rather than feeding them tasty treats. >> reporter: the young republicans father is a former ohio state legislator. everyone in his family belongs

to the republican party. they believe the wealthiest of the u.s. population is a primary engine behind the country's prosperity. students for obama and romney take part in a head to head debate. curiel represents democratic party supporters. republican party backer williamoski asks another student who is talented at debating to take his place. the focus of discussion is obama's health care overhaul which will require all citizens to buy medical insurance starting in 2014.

>> the debate continues for one hour. >> i don't think that everybody should be entitled to it. who don't work and things like that. >> reporter: anti-obama sentiment is stronger than curiel had anticipated. the members of college democrat group decide to change their strategy. instead of directly appealing to students to vote for obama, they will emphasize on getting as many people as possible to the polls. they go from room to room talking with students at more than 20 dormitories.

>> hello. i'm going around registering people to vote for the presidential election. >> reporter: public opinion polls suggest obama has the support of more than 60% of young adults. curiel and his group are hoping many back obama for second term if they show up at the polls. nhk world, ohio. . the economy is what i think is number one. >> the health care. >> new jobs. the people of bahrain are reeling after a series of bomb attacks. five devices exploded in the capital killing two people.

the government blamed opposition activists for the attacks. the associated press says the victims were from bangladesh. one other was injured. police say they were home made and placed by roadsides. issued a statement denouncing violence. the group called for a transparent investigation into the attacks. it also asked the government not to take advantage of the bombings to suppress anti-government groups. shias form the majority of the population but the country is ruled by a sunni royal family. an israeli television documentary says prime minister benjamin netanyahu was considering military action against iran two years ago. it says he ordered defense chiefs to strike iran's nuclear facilities. the program says netanyahu told the armed forces chief of staff to be ready for the attack. but the chief of staff

reportedly opposed the plan. he argued the country lacked the military capability to mount a successful attack. the head of the intelligence agency also disagreed with the prime minister. he reportedly said such a decision should only be made at a full cabinet meeting. the military -- they have been vocal critics of netanyahu ever since. both said it would have been premature to attack iran. netanyahu told the assembly in september to set a deadline of next summer at the latest for iran to halt its nuclear program. the next presidential election in afghanistan is scheduled for april 2014. that's also the year when u.s.-led forces will withdrawal from the war torn nation. now the government is trying to shore up security by encouraging taliban soldiers to leave their posts and go into the community.

hideki yui reports. >> reporter: a ceremony is held for former taliban fighters who are announcing their membership and reintegrating into society. >> translator: i have fought for over ten years. many of my comrades were killed or injured. i'm tired of this. >> reporter: taliban soldiers who hand in their weapons to the afghan government receive about $360 to cover short-term living expens expenses. this is equivalent to sixth months of salary in the country. >> translator: the afghan government pledges full support for people who participate in the peace process. >> reporter: this gives former soldiers work removing land mines.

unexploded mines have been accumulating since 1979. such devices remain scattered across the country and innocent people continue to fall victim to them. former soldiers are housed together and go out every day to use metal detecters in their search for land mines. >> translator: i'm happy. by doing land mine removal, i can contribute to my country while i get paid and send my children to school. >> reporter: international forces estimate that over 5,000 soldiers have left the taliban in the last two years. and believe the group have definitely been weakened. >> the pressure will still be applied by a very capable afghan security forces and therefore

they're increasingly thinking about reintegration. it's the only way they're going to stop fighting to preserve their own lives. >> reporter: on the other hand, a muslim leader of the taliban says its soldiers still feel a strong sense of unity. >> translator: many farmers and unemployed people pretend to be taliban to the government so they can get cash and work. the government is giving the wrong impression by saying the group is weakening. >> reporter: the national government is striving to convince as many taliban soldiers as possible to reintegrate before the foreign forces pull out. it will be a major influence on the handover.

hideki yui, kabul. thailand has hosted an international transgender beauty contest in a popular beach town. we report on how one contestant made her way along a winding road to happiness. >> reporter: international beauties strut their stuff while competing for the crown. but this is not your average beauty pageant. 21 contestants from 15 countries are here for this miss international queen 2012. a prominent world class transgender beauty pageant. the annual contest is now in its eighth installment. this is the first year for it to be broadcast internationally to

viewers in over 100 countries. >> translator: this pageant promote's thailand's image and enable the whole world to have a good understanding about transgender. >> reporter: representing thailand, 21-year-old joined the race for the crown. from a young age, jalai had been more feminine than other boys. at the age of 16, he decided to have a sex change operation. now as an up and coming transgender fashion model, new opportunities present themselves for her. but for jalai, there is a reason she must win. that reason is her only family, her mother.

>> translator: all along my mother has been my biggest fan and supporter. and is very happy for me. her support is the most important thing for me. it gives me the strength and confidence to do anything. >> reporter: jele's mother lives about 450 kilometers away from bangkok. she is the owner of a small restaurant. however, life has not always been easy. after divorcing her british husband when their child was only two and a half years old, she single handedly raised jele. she would do anything for her only child from working at a shoe factory to being a maid at a hotel. >> translator: it was a hard time. i had to work alone.

i often couldn't afford my child's education and asked for help from my sisters. i have just taught jele to be a good person. i let him decide to be a woman because it's his life. >> reporter: on the big night, she is glued to tv watching the pageant's final contest. >> goes to number seven from thailand. >> reporter: when the moment came, jele took third place after her fellow filipino and brazilian contenders. >> translator: i'm very glad to see she won third place. i just hope she will do what she likes in the future.

>> translator: if she has been watching me tonight on tv, i want to tell her i got third place and to be proud of your child. i really want to see my mom now. >> reporter: although born as a boy and now living as a woman, the love between jele and her mother is unconditional. and this mother's prayers for the success of her child continue. nhk world. time now to check weather conditions. people in many areas of japan are getting to work or school under gray skies and their umbrellas. sayaka mori tells us what we can expect in her world weather forecast. >> well, catherine, things will be clearing up in western japan by this afternoon. but rain is spreading towards the east. that's going to be effecting the eastern half of japan into

tomorrow. these -- this rain is caused by these low pressure systems. thunderstorms and gusty winds are going to be a problem. hokkaido is likely to see heavy rains. more rain will be coming down on your wednesday. so flooding and the landslides are going to be a concern. back behind it we've got another low pressure system which is actually causing heavy know in and around over the beijing area over the weekend. still bring in snow showers in northeastern china and north korea. snow will be continuing throughout the day, but thundershowers in south korea will be tapering off by this afternoon. sunny skies will be coming back to the okinawa islands as well as taiwan. but rain in southwestern china will spread towards the east. going to be seeing the heaviest rain today. temperatures will be quite warmer than yesterday in beijing. 11 degrees expected. tokyo slightly cooler than seasonal with high of 17

degrees. rain will be clearing up by this evening. all right. moving into the americas then. a low pressure system is moving into british columbia once again. that's going to produce coastal rain and heavy mountain snow. expected to see as much as 30 centimeters of snowfall in the next 24 hours. even vancouver and seattle will turn wet from tomorrow. and then we have another system moving along the u.s./canada border spreading rain in the north dakota and south dakota. and snow showers in central canada. the system will continue to head towards the east and affect the western great lakes region on tuesday. we have a high pressure system over the great lakes region at this moment. this is a very troublesome system because it's dragging in colder air from the north. so temperatures are quite chilly for this time of year. we'll show the figures in this time of year. and it's forcing another low pressure system over the lower mississippi river valley moving along the eastern seaboard. right now this system producing

severe weather. this system will be moving along the eastern seaboard. that means the east coast of the u.s. which was devastated by superstorm sandy will see another -- will see stormy conditions once again from tuesday night into your thursday. so further coastal erosion and coastal flooding are going to be a potential. and on top of that, again very cold air is blanketing much of the northeastern section of the continent. only 3 degrees in new york city. 2 in washington, d.c. and below freezing in toronto. temperatures will remain quite low. 9 degrees in washington. 8 degrees in new york city. and 4 in toronto. many people are still without electricity. so this is going to cause very critical situation. all right. moving into europe then. severe weather is happening across the baltic states. eastern europe as well as the balkan peninsula.

and then on and off showers will continue across the southern half of the peninsula. temperatures looking like this. cooler than average in london. 8 degrees and same in berlin. here's extended forecast.

and that's all for this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. thanks very much for joining us.